Reading Notes - Indian Fables and Folklore (Part A)

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Indian Fables and Folklore by Shovona Devi

The Man in the Eye
      If one looks at their reflection of the pupil, they would see a tiny man
      Some believe him to be their reflection and others believe him to be death
     
The Hare in the Moon
      A saucy little hare confronts the biggest elephant to save his peers from being further crushed
     He claims to be the Hare in the Moon
     Wit is what saved the hares

The Elephant-Fighting Hare
      A hare challenges an elephant (the chief) to fight
     The elephant didn't wish to fight until he was angered
     The hare manages to dodge all of the attacks
     The elephant goes to lay on him, but instead, the hare lays on him
     The other elephants believe that the hare is holding him down, but the elephant just believes that he is crushing the hare to death
     Thus the elephants were vanquished

The Hungry Elephant
     Elephant can use both sense and strength
     An elephant, named Futtehgurrh, came into a bazaar looking for food
    He was denied so he butted his head against the stall and caused it to crumble
    He saw all that he had asked for and more, so he feasted
 
The Moon in the Well
    Monkeys were raiding an orchard when the moon disappeared
    They went searching for it
    A well that was next to them held the reflection of the moon
   The monkeys try and save the moon, but all of them fall down the well
   The monkey is believed to be a fool and so more stories are told
 
A Rat's Svyamvara 
    A mighty sage would stand in the Ganges and worship the sun
   One day a baby rat dropped from a hawk's talons into the hands of the sage
   The sage gave the baby rat to his wife
   The sage turned the rat into a little girl to appease his wife
   The little girl soon grew into womanhood and so the sage wished to marry her
   He said for her to marry the sun, but she asked if any was mightier than him and he said the cloud
   She asked the cloud the same and he said the wind
   The wind said the mountain
   The mountain said the rat
   The rat came and she was transformed back into the rat and she married him
 
The Frog-King's Folly
   A snake, Manda-Vish, had grown too old to hunt prey so he went to live beside a pond full of frogs
  The king of the frogs, Yal-pada, asked him why and he explained that a curse was put upon him
  He had bitten a Brahmin and therefore had a curse put upon him that he could never harm frogs without the permission of the king
  The snake offers to let Yal-pada ride on his head wherever he wishes to go
  He hops on him and takes a ride
  Manda-Vish grows weak and asks for the king to grant him a frog to eat
  The king, not wanting to lose dignity, allows Manda-Vish to eat one of his servants
  Therefore, Manda-Vish took Yal-pada on a ride everyday and managed to have one frog everyday
  This happened until all the frogs were eaten, including Yal-pada
 
Gautama the Ungrateful
  Gautama was a Brahmin who was made to beg for his food
  Gautama met a stranger while out walking and the stranger happened to be a robber
  He had asked the stranger for food, but the stranger gave him a gold coin instead of robbing him
  Gautama ends up going to live with the robber and continues on to become one himself
  Gautama runs into an old friend of his that is a Brahmin himself
  The friend questions if it is truly Gautama
  Gautama had spoken to his friend and then so desired to return to his home and his friends
  He left the house of the robber by night and slept under a tree that was protected by a crane
  The crane had advised him to go to Viru-paksha to receive gold coins
  After he went and received the coins, Gautama returned to sleep under the tree
  Gautama decided to kill the crane because he had no food and it would be a long journey
  Viru-paksha waited for the crane the next morning, but he didn't come
  He sent a messenger who found out that he was murdered
  Viru-paksha, when Gautama was brought before him, decreed Gautama be cut up and fed to the vultures and dogs
  The vultures dogs, jackals, and worms would not eat the pieces of him
 
Ratnakar, the Robber-Chief
  Ratnakar was a robber-chief, who was also a Brahmin
  Ratnakar and his band worshipped Kali and made sacrifices to her
  Ratnakar experiences an unfavorable day and so he goes to find a sacrifice
  The man questions if Ratnakar's wife and children would approve of his ways
  He ties the man to a tree and then asks his wife
  The wife does not approve of his ways even though she lives off of his blunders
  The children did not approve as well
  Ratnakar goes back to free the man that he tied up
  Ratnakar's band found a little girl in the woods, who they took to the temple to sacrifice to Kali
  Ratnakar stops his band from sacrificing the girl and so they deserted him
  Ratnakar becomes Valmiki due to his austerities
  He becomes the author of the Ramayana
  He encounters two goddesses

The Ring of Renunciation 
  Rita-dhwaja, a king, was married to Madalasa
  They had a son who complained about a peasant boy being rude to him when he was playing a game
  His mother showed him a perspective, which led the boy to become a hermit
  The king and queen had two more sons, who also went to the ways of a hermit
  At last the king asked the queen to teach their last son who was born the ways of the state
  The queen teaches the boy these things and finally, he prepares to ascend the throne
  When he ascends, the king and queen go to live in the woods
  They leave him with parting knowledge
  King: Beware of the King of the Kashis
  Queen: she offers her ring that he should read when he gives up on the world
  He eventually reads the ring after being defeated by the King of the Kashis
  It says to "Leave the World and Love the Lord"
  Alarka, the king, asks to be the King of the Kashis friend
  Due to this friendship, his son is able to marry the daughter of the King of the Kashis
  His son is put on the throne and Alarka and his wife go into the woods where nature will be the teacher

The Gifts of the Sun
  Yamadagni, a sage, was shooting arrows with Renuka, his wife
  Renuka exclaims that the sun is burning her head and the sand is burning her feet
  Yamadagni threatens to shoot the sun down
  The sun gifts her with a parasol and slippers so Yamadagni does not shoot
  This is the origin of parasols and slippers/shoes

Atreya's Heaven
  Atreya, a renowned sage
  He was the son of Atri
  He could place himself anywhere, so one day he went to the Heaven of Indra
  When he returns to his cottage, he is not pleased with the food that his wife provides him
  Therefore, he decides to summon Vishva-Karma
  He asks Vishva-Karma to craft him a Heaven like that of Indra
  Vishva-Karma fears the Brahmin's curse and so he fulfills his wish
  Atreya's Heaven attracts giants, who level it to the ground
  Therefore, Atreya calls upon Vishva-Karma again and asks for his simple cottage back
  Atreya never complains about humble living again

Yudhishtir's Dog
  A great battle broke out between the Pandavas and the Kauravas
  The Pandavas and Draupadi departed for Mount Sumeru
  Along the way, the brothers and Draupadi fall and all that is left is Yudhishtir and his dog
  When they get up to the top, Indra does not allow the dog into Heaven
  Yudhishtir says that all the others abandoned him, while his dog stayed true
  Since Yudhishtir had pleaded so nobly for the dog to be let in, his wish was granted
  Yudhishtir and his dog are both allowed entrance into Heaven

The Dogs of Hell
   Yama was the one to discover Hell and with him were two dogs as faithful as Yudhishtir's
   Their four eyes point in the cardinal direction
   They are like shepherd dogs for souls

The Magic Food-Bowl of the Sun
   It opens talking about Yudhishtir's gambling problem
   Due to being exiled, the brothers and Draupadi lived in the woods
   One day, Yudhishtir begged the sun for food since they couldn't wrangle up enough to eat
   The sun took pity on him and gave him a food-bowl that filled with whatever was desired
   This is the only reason they survived exile
 

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